Only Hope
by Miss Nostalgia
Summary: Jess and Leslie were both strangers at first. Jess, needing comfort from someone else because of a trial he's dealing with, finds it in Leslie. Will their friendship turn into something more? What if, just what if there's an if? AU. JxL
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I don't own Bridge to Terabithia and A Walk To Remember. I'll just be borrowing their characters for a while for this story.

* * *

Jesse Aarons punched and kicked everything that was in his way.

"Why do you have to be so fucking unfair!"

Tears were now on his eyes. He tried so hard not to cry, but the pain was unbearable.

~*~*~*~****

"_Jess… I've got something to tell you…" Jamie started. A little confused whether she should tell him or not. But he deserved to know. He had every right to know._

"_What is it?" Jess asked her. He was gently trembling, although he hid it. Was she going to break up with him?_

"_Jess, please don't be mad at me." __Jamie__ said. She started to cry now. Jess immediately rushed to her and enveloped her into a hug._

"_I'm so sorry Jess. I didn't want to keep it from you. I just don't want to hurt you…" She sobbed in his neck, her words muffled._

"_What is it baby? You can tell me anything. I can never hate you, and you know that." Jess assured her._

_Jamie__ hesitated for a moment, but broke away gently from his hug. _

_Avoiding his look, she finally told him._

"_I have leukemia."_

_Jess couldn't believe what he heard. _

"_You're joking, right?" He said, smiling as he thought it was only a joke._

"_Jess…"_

"_You're lying, right?" He was desperate now._

"_I'm sorry…"_

"_You're fucking lying!"_

_With that, he ran away._

~*~*~*~

"FUCK!" He said as he punched the wall real hard.

It hurt. But what's hurting him the most was the pain in his heart.

"Of all the people, why does it have to be her?! ANSWER ME!" He shouted. Life was unfair to him from the start, but how could it invade the most of him? Even including the girl he loved the most?

He punched the wall harder. As his hand dropped on his side, blood dripped from it. The emotional pain was much more powerful than the throbbing pain he was feeling from his hand. He couldn't be selfish. Jamie's life is much more important to think about rather than his own right now.

Jamie Sullivan.

The sweetest seventeen-year old he had ever met in his entire life. How could God give her something like that? Was she being punished for something? Certainly not. Jamie never committed any crime, not a single sin. Jess believed that she was sinless. Of all the people you'd suspect to be committing countless sins each day, Jamie would be excluded from them. He couldn't blame her for hiding it from him, because if she did, he wouldn't want to fall in love and stay with her out of pity. That would be the most selfish thing a guy could do.

Jess' tired body fell on his bed. He was so tired. Too exhausted to think about anything. Tears still streamed from his eyes, until he fell asleep.

* * *

"Aarons! Can you please pay attention? You're grades are hitting the dumpster!" Mrs. Myers scolded Jess.

_I fell asleep again_, he thought.

"Sorry Mrs. Myers." He apologized to her. Mrs. Myers just raised an eyebrow and continued with her discussion. He was fortunate enough to be not given detention.

English class went on for thirty more minutes until the bell finally rang. Students rushed out to the hall. They were so hungry from all the running they did earlier that morning. Jess was too, but he disregarded it.

He went outside, looking for a place where he could be by himself.

It was very hot that day. The heat was scorching. His skin felt sticky, but it didn't matter for him one bit. The day was painfully beautiful. He should have been enjoying this day with her, instead, they were avoiding each other. Jess couldn't bear looking at her. It was too painful.

He sniffled. His tears near to catching up with his breath.

Just then, he felt a hand on his shoulder.

"Are you okay?"

Jess' chin was touching his chest as he cried. A few moments later, he lifted his face to see who it was.

Maybe she'd be his only hope.

* * *

What do you think? If you want me to continue, then please review and tell me what you think of this chapter. I really want to know your opinions!


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: I don't own Bridge to Terabithia and A Walk To Remember. Simple as that.

* * *

"Are you okay?" A blonde girl asked him.

When Jess looked up at her, he instantly got mesmerized by her bluish-green set of eyes.

"I heard you crying. Is something the matter?" The blonde girl asked him again. He shifted slightly, his back hurting a little.

"Yeah, I'm fine," Jess looked at her, she did look a little familiar, "do I know you?" He asked the blonde girl.

"No, but I do. You're Jess Aarons right?"

"Yeah, how'd you know my name?"

"Well… This isn't such a big high school after all… Everyone knows everyone, practically."

_Why didn't I think of that?_ Jess shrugged. "Yeah, you're right."

"So, are you feeling better now? It must be something really awful." The blonde girl said to him. Jess barely nodded.

"Yeah… It is…"

There was a short pause between them when the blonde girl spoke up again.

"Want to talk about it?" She boldly asked.

_What's with her? We're total strangers yet she's talking like we've been friends for God knows how long._ "Um, sorry. I really don't want to. I didn't even plan on thinking about it in the first place. It just stabbed me like a knife suddenly. It's really personal…" Jess explained to her. He heard her say 'oh' and murmur an apology.

"It's okay." Jess assured her. The girl smiled and offered her hand.

"Leslie Burke by the way. I forgot to introduce myself earlier, and that was rude of me. Sorry."

_Jeez, quit apologizing already_. "It's okay. Jess Aarons," he shook her hand, "you know me already judging from your statement earlier." He smiled awkwardly at her.

"We're classmates in Mrs. Myer's class." Leslie told him.

_We are? I don't remember seeing you though…_ "We are?" He asked her.

"Yup!" She cheekily replied.

"Oh. I didn't notice…" _I don't pay attention to anything anyway._

"Hmm, I tend to memorize everyone's face if not their name." She told him a matter-of-factly.

"On the contrary, I tend to forget things or not pay any attention at all." He told her also. Leslie giggled a little.

"The reason you were crying," she started, hesitating whether she should continue or not, but did anyway, "was probably because of a girl right?" she said to him.

"Yeah…" Jess said. His throat almost dried.

"She must have done something to have hurt you this bad, enough to make you cry."

_Exactly, only that it wasn't entirely her fault. Screw fate._

"Look, I really don't want to talk about it…" Jess' voice turned sour. He stood up, gathering his sketch pad and his messenger bag. Leslie stood up as well, feeling a little sorry for him, and guilty that he invaded a private spot.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to..." She apologized to him. Jess stopped on his tracks, but didn't turn to face her.

"It's okay. I'm going anyway," he paused to look at his wristwatch, "it's almost one o'clock. I can't be late for this subject."

Leslie felt ashamed, _you should have kept your big mouth shut_, she thought to herself. "Okay… It was nice talking to you." She said to him.

"Same." Although for Jess it really wasn't.

With that, Jess left. Not a goodbye was exchanged between the two.

* * *

"Pick up… Pick the goddamn phone!" Jess cursed on the telephone.

His emotions were mixed. He was angry at her, and at the same time, guilty. He shouldn't have shouted at her. He should have listened to her. He just had to get his anger get in the way.

He continued to curse more when someone finally answered on the other line.

"Hey!-"

"Is that the way how you greet someone on the phone, Mr. Aarons?" A stern, male voice scolded him nonchalantly on the other end.

It hit him that it was Jamie's father, Reverend Sullivan. "I-I'm sorry sir. I-I thought you were-"

"Jamie? What do you want from my daughter?" He said, a growing anger a little noticeable in his voice, even over the phone.

"I want to talk to her sir, if you would permit." He said, close to pleading. With Reverend Sullivan, Jess was always careful with his words.

"She's not feeling very well Mr. Aarons." _I know_, Jess thought.

"Please sir, even just for a little while." His voice was now pleading. Reverend Sullivan mentally fought with himself for a minute if he should let them talk or not. He was sure by now that Jamie had already told Jess about her illness.

"Just be sure that you wouldn't shout at her over the phone." He said. Jamie obviously told him about their last conversation.

Jess heard him call Jamie from the phone. He also heard Jamie tell her father to tell him that she wasn't feeling good, but Reverend Sullivan thought it would be much better if things between the two of them were settled.

He heard a hand picking up the phone from Reverend Sullivan. He gulped and prepared his words.

"What do you want Jess?" Jamie asked. It was clear that he had hurt her too much.

"Jamie baby… I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to shout at you like that." He said. If only they were talking face to face.

"Don't be. It was my fault for hiding it from you. I lied to you the whole time. I deserved that."

"No! Don't ever say that-"

"Jess, I don't need your sympathy. Things were normal, even after I was diagnosed with leukemia. I stopped the treatments because I already knew that even if I took them, things wouldn't change. I'll still be dying by the minute," Jamie paused as a string of memories, good memories with him flashed in her mind with her eyes closed, "then you came. I was supposed to enjoy the last of my days when you came. I told you from the very start not to fall in love with me, but what you did was laugh at me, not knowing that you _would_ really fall in love with me..." She said, and then cried. The rest of her words were muffled by her sobs. Jess bit his lower lip, he was crying himself now. How could he be so cruel to her?

"Baby, I'm sorry. Please forgive me. Please… I really am sorry. God is wrong to give you something like this. You don't deserve-"

"Jesse," she started, calling him by his real name was something she would do when she's serious, "I do not need a reason to be angry with God. So don't blame Him for what I'm going through right now." She said sternly. Part of her felt really mad at him, and the other part wanted to just hug him at that moment and forget everything else.

"Jamie… I'm sorry."

A long pause fell between them. Jess heard her clear her throat.

"I don't think we should see each other anymore." She suggested, biting her lower lip as she said this. It took every ounce of her courage to say it.

In Jess' mind, he was screaming no. She couldn't just end everything like this. She shouldn't make her illness as an excuse, yet Jess was too weak.

"If that's what you want," he said, in a hoarse voice, but his gentlest, "but please remember that I still love you, not that I pity you because of your illness, but I love you for the person that you are." He said to her, somehow hoping that she would get her words back.

A long silence filled the line again.

"I know Jess. I love you too, but if we stay together… It'll only make things harder for us… For you… I don't want to be a burden to you."

Jess was lost at words.

"Because I love you so much, I'm willing to let you go." Her voice broke down completely. He heard the phone being put down on a wooden table, and Reverend Sullivan's voice calling her. The phone was picked up again. He was sure that it was Reverend Sullivan. Reverend Sullivan listened to Jamie the whole time, amazed at his daughter's beautiful words, her declaration of her unconditional love for a boy named Jess Aarons. A boy he never really did like.

When Reverend Sullivan didn't speak immediately, Jess did.

"Sir, please tell her that I really, really love her. I love her not because I pity her for her illness, but I simply just love her." He said, though a very simple phrase from a seventeen-year old boy, it was powerful enough to reach Reverend Sullivan's heart, which was half-stoned since his wife's death several years back. It was close to stoning completely after they found out about Jamie's illness, if not for her daughter's love and affection.

"I understand Jess. I will tell her that." Reverend Sullivan assured him, a true conviction present in his voice.

"Thank you, sir." Jess' voice broke down as well. Reverend Sullivan didn't bother on talking any further and waited for him to put down the phone first.

Jess then put the phone down, too tired and drained by his emotions to wipe the tears from his eyes.

Reverend Sullivan could only pray for the two of them.

* * *

Don't worry, Leslie will be in the next chappie (although I haven't written it yet). Too many quizzes next week!. Please REVIEW! It would be SO awesome if you do!


	3. Chapter 3

A/N: I've kinda switched this into a BTT only category, seeing that not many have read this story yet. I'll switch this back into a crossover one as soon as I publish the fourth chapter.

Disclaimer: I don't own Bridge to Terabithia and A Walk To Remember, and we all know that that's a fact.

* * *

He went back to the cool shade provided by the tree, the one which he had stayed at a week earlier. He tossed his bag aside, nothing inside was fragile. He clenched his fists. He wanted to think that everything that had happened last week were all just a nightmare. A bad dream. A very bad one.

Jamie having leukemia? That was such a bad dream any guy could ever dream about his girlfriend. But there's no escaping now. Jamie really does have that wicked illness, and the saddest part was her breaking up with him. It was almost too hard to bear. He kept questioning God why did it have to be her of all people?

Jess closed his eyes and started to think of only the good memories with Jamie.

~*~*~*~

"_Hey! Are you okay there?" Jess asked the girl whom he saw fell on her knees when she got tripped by someone. It was a good thing Jess didn't see the person in fault or he would have had punched him or her by now. He didn't care even if it was a girl._

"_Yeah, I'm okay." She lied. Jess heard her say 'ow' as she stood up, supporting herself by holding onto the locker at her back._

_Jess snorted. _"_Hell, you're obviously not. Let's get you to the clinic. Those assholes are such a pain." Jess said, not being able to hold the curses. The girl wanted to refuse his help, but knowing Jess Aarons, it'll only complicate things, so she complied and tried to kneel down to get her things.  
_

_Seeing that she was having a little difficulty in walking, he first got her belongings and got her arm and put it around his neck to help her walk. It was one nasty trip alright._

"_Okay…" Was all Jamie could say to him.  
_

_Jess Aarons wasn't exactly a jock. He was just too much of a loner.. Lark Creek High wasn't exactly that big as well, so students know each other, what's going on around, and the latest gossip and everything. Jess Aarons was a silent boy, not the geek type of silent. He just liked to keep things to himself. But he would be very confusing sometimes because he would suddenly crank up jokes and pull stunts in front of everybody. When a jock invites him to their clique, Jess would just shoo him away. He was a very sociable person anyway. The only thing that wasn't admirable about Jess Aarons was that he was very persuasive. He had been in a lot of fights too. Every image of a bad boy you could possibly picture._

_When they arrived at the clinic, they saw two elementary kids being treated. The two kids had obviously punched each other. The nurse heard the door closed, so she turned to see who they were. She rolled her eyes as she saw Jess._

"_You again, Mr. Aarons? What have you done this time?" She asked after dipping the alcohol-soaked cotton on the boy's wound. The elementary kid winced and complained, but the nurse shushed her. She averted her attention back to Jess. Seeing that he was with a girl, she felt kind of worried._

"_Don't tell me-"_

"_Don't worry Mrs. Fulcher, I never punch a lady you know." He lied. He _did_ punch a girl, three times actually. But that was in middle school._

"_Oh. Good to hear that. So, what's her problem?" She said, feeling relieved._

_He pointed Jamie's leg. "Um, I think she hurt her leg. Tripped by a couple of assholes along the hallway. They seriously need to get a life, and a better and far interesting one I might say." He told the nurse, as if they were discussing about something extremely significant.  
_

_The nurse gasped at the word. "Watch your tongue, Mr. Aarons. I'm starting to think that you originally came from New York, not here in Lark Creek." She warned him. Jess just laughed._

"_This is after all the twenty-first century Mrs. Fulcher. Well anyway, I gotta get going. See ya around, sweater-girl." Jess said to Jamie, adding a wink before he was gone. Jamie blushed a little._

_The nurse observed the two from the moment they entered the clinic._

_She turned on the fan since it was becoming hot inside, she then turned to Jamie. "Do you kids know each other?" Mrs. Fulcher asked her._

"_Not really… He helped me get here when I tripped." She explained to her._

"_Do you know the kids who tripped you? You ought to tell the principal about it," she advised her, "kids these days." She said as she grunted. Her own son was a bully as well._

"_Unfortunately, no. But it's okay, it doesn't really bother me that much. I'll be more careful next time." She assured the nurse. Mrs. Fulcher just smiled at her._

"_I'll be back with a bag of ice. Make yourself comfortable dear." She said to her as she smiled and left._

"_Okay Mrs. Fulcher. Thank you." Jamie thanked the chubby school nurse as she disappeared into one of the rooms to get a bag of ice for her leg._

~*~*~*~

Jess laughed a little at the memory. That was the very first time he had actually interacted with Jamie. Lark Creek High wasn't a big school, so students knew each other mostly. Jess saw her more and talked with her a few times before they actually became friends. They were classmates in some subjects as well, so that helped in improving their relationship more.

After that episode of helping her, Jamie never stopped thanking him, and Jess would only smile at her and told her that it was just a one-time thing and he happened to be in a very jumpy mood that day.

After reminiscing of a few more, Jess realized that he badly needed someone to talk to. It couldn't be his parents, they were always busy. It couldn't be his older sisters too, nor his younger ones. Being the only boy smashed between four sisters wasn't an interesting idea at all. Jamie was the only person he ever talked with about his personal problems and his life, and that was the reason why he liked her. She always understood him well. She was very good listener as too, unlike his family where communication was only one-way.

The heat was scorching. Sweat trickled down Jess' cheeks. Even the tree's shade wasn't enough to protect him from the sun. Just as he was about to stand up, he felt a presence sit next to him.

"Hi." A female voice said.

Jess turned to his side to see who it was, and was not at all surprised to see the 'snotty' girl, as he described her last week.

"Hey." He greeted her back, not even turning to her direction. Leslie Burke saw the emptiness in his eyes.

She sat next to him, feeling at ease by the trunk her back was leaning on. "Been crying again?" She asked him nonchalantly. Jess now felt offended by this.

"What's with you and all those questions?" He snapped.

She gave him a questioning look. "Huh?"

_It's useless to even have this _conversation, Jess thought. He stood up, "You know, I really don't like persons who feel as if they can be anyone's friend. You seem like the arrogant type, and I hate persons like that." He said to her, wanting to make her feel that she had just entered a personal space.

Standing up as well, she pointed a finger as well and poked it in his chest twice. "I'm just trying to be nice! What's wrong with that?"

"I hate people being nice to me!" He shouted at her.

"Wasn't Jamie nice to you?" She shot back at him.

He fell silent after hearing her name. "Don't talk about her. You don't even know her." He said, starting to leave. How dare she ask him if he was okay? They were strangers for chrissake. She shouldn't just butt in into someone else's business like it was normal. Leslie grabbed his arm, pulling him back to her.

She looked at him with apologetic eyes. "Look, I do know her. We're friends."

Jess raised an eyebrow. "Friends?"

"Well… Not exactly. Our moms were."

"_Were?"_ Jess was confused at this. Leslie bit her lip.

It was like she was out of breath. "Our moms were friends back when they were at high school. Mrs. Sullivan would always bring Jamie at our house so we could play with each other." She inhaled, and then exhaled slowly before speaking up again. "My mom… she died from leukemia…" She explained to him. A wave of pity and guilt then hit Jess. His concern for Jamie disappeared for that moment and was centered at the girl before him.

He took a step nearer her. "I-I'm sorry… I didn't know." He apologized.

She smiled weakly, a twinge of sadness and pain in her heart. "It's okay." Her misty eyes were enough to tell him the emptiness in her heart.

They both fell silent for a while when Leslie sat back on her place under the shade of the tree and looked at the sky.

"I know how it feels like," she started, "the first time my mother told my father and me that she had leukemia… We thought it was one of her insane jokes." She continued. Jess sat again beside her, looking at the sky as well, which reminded him well of the times Jamie and he spent.

"My mom was a very strong woman. Too bad I never did inherit that strength of hers." She giggled a little.

Jess didn't make an attempt to speak, so she continued on with her story. "It was a sunny day, a very beautiful day in fact. My dad and I arrived home from buying the groceries. As we stepped inside our house, mom suddenly hugged both of us. I know it's normal for mothers to do that, but I felt something different at that time, like something awful was about to come."

"By dinner, we were all quiet. It was so awkward that I tried hard to start a conversation, but mom kept silent. It was just so… different of her at that time. We didn't have a single silent dinner until that night."

"After finishing our desserts, she suddenly spoke up. Without further ado, she told us that she was diagnosed with leukemia."

Jess heard her sniffle. The night that Jamie told him about her illness, he thought she was being uneasy because it was already a little past ten at that time, and maybe she was just worried that her father might get worried.

Seeing that Leslie didn't use a hanky to wipe her tears, just her hand, he offered her his. "Thanks." She thanked him.

"I'm sorry for being mean to you last week and earlier… I was just having a hard time…"

She shook her head. "I know Jess, I understand. I shouldn't have been snotty too. It was rude." She apologized to him, but Jess mumbled an okay and squeezed her hand to assure her.

"My mom then told us that the doctor said she would only have three years more to live, even with a bone marrow transplant. Money wasn't a problem at all, but my mother didn't ask for the operation, and she was final with that decision. She told us why she didn't want the operation, and said that she would want to spend her remaining time with us. She didn't want to be a burden to us."

"That's what Jamie said to me too." Jess told her.

Leslie nodded. "I think you would understand her now Jess."

"Yeah… I do." Jess said, feeling guilty that he didn't give Jamie a chance to talk after confessing to him about the illness.

Leslie hugged her knees and inhaled the scent of their surrounding.

"It was so ironic. It was such a beautiful day that day. The sky was clear and blue. We didn't expect her to say that at all. I even laughed so hard, and stopped when I noticed that my mother wasn't smiling at all. It was hard Jess. Really hard." She said a matter-of-factly.

He lowered his head, feeling ashamed of how he treated Leslie. "I'm sorry. I never should have been judgmental."

"I understand…" she assured him; even she wouldn't be happy if someone asks her things so personal like those, "I was happy that she at least made it until I entered ninth grade. She died on the first day of high school. The last memory I had with her was when she was packing my lunch." She said. She wiped her tears. Reliving the memory was too hard to handle, even after two years.

_I know I should be considered lucky to have a compete family. But what's the use when you're like invisible to them?_ This thought was plastered in Jess Aarons' mind ever since he was young.

"I have a father and a mother, but they don't seem to notice me at all."

Leslie didn't reply and fixed her gaze at the blue sky.

"I can't help but ask God as well why Jamie had to be sick with it." Leslie said to him, as though the word leukemia was something like a taboo. Something she didn't want to say.

"Yeah… Of all the people, why her? It could be anyone. It could be me. She doesn't deserve it. She of all people… touched me, inspired me, made me hope when I thought I would never be touched, inspired or even hope again."

Leslie felt deeply touched by this. One of the greatest things she had ever heard from someone. Leslie reached for his hand and squeezed it.

"I've never met someone, nor heard a story about anyone holding such a strong love for the person he loves just like yours." She said to him and smiled. A tear cascaded from Jess' eye.

Their fingers intertwined like they had been friends for such a long time. The warmth of Leslie's touch was like an assurance of comfort and solace to Jess, one that he needed the most at that time.

Even if Jamie wasn't beside him, Leslie could be her replacement for the meantime. Jamie used to be the one who listened to his problems and provide the comfort he needed, but now she that was absent, Leslie filled her place. Although it might not be forever, Jess felt thankful and grateful to Leslie for being by his side when he needed someone to talk to.

Leslie Burke appeared at exactly the right time, when he felt so hopeless and alone.


	4. Chapter 4

Disclaimer: I do NOT own Bridge to Terabithia. It belongs to Katherine Paterson and her son.

* * *

What they didn't know was that someone had been watching them afar.

She gently wiped the tears that fell from her eyes. Her hands became balls of fists. But, the question was, did she have the right to be angry? Did she have the right to be jealous? She was the one who broke up with him, not him, but she did it because it she would continue their relationship, it would only make things harder for them. But, did she make the right decision?

Questions kept spinning in Jamie's head. What she wanted to do at that moment was to march towards them and separate their hands. She felt envy. She felt anger. She felt jealousy. All the negative feelings she had been keeping to herself were near freedom when she saw the two of them holding each other's hands. She only came to get her belongings from her locker. She had not expected to see something else.

Jess and Leslie were looking at each other's eyes like they were lovers. Jamie's heart sank at this. What about her? Had Jess forgotten her that fast? Were the words he said to her over the phone just lies? Did he say it out of pity? She fell on her knees. The sole reason why she broke up with him was to make things easier for them. She didn't plan on telling him about her sickness, but it would be like betraying him, so she did. But now, with this, she was close to death itself.

She ran as fast as she could. She didn't want to think of her illness, her father, or Jess. She didn't want to think about _her_. All she wanted to do was run away. Run as far as she could. She just wanted to be alone.

*~*~*~*

"So, do you feel better now?" Leslie asked Jess.

He smiled at her. He should appreciate this simple act of kindness. "Yeah, thanks a lot."

Leslie looked at her watch. Her eyes almost bulged out. "Shit. I'm going to be late if I don't start walking now." She said.

"What class do you have?" Jess asked her. He himself didn't mind getting late. He didn't care one bit about absenting.

"English. I got Mrs. Myers for that."

His face lit up a little. "Really? I got her as well," he said, surprised that he didn't notice her in that class before, "I wasn't really planning on going today… Since you have her in English, might as well just go with you." He told her. Leslie got nervous when her heart skipped a beat.

"Uh, okay. Let's go!" She said, suddenly bubbly. Jess just smiled at her and helped her stand up as they walked to Mrs. Myers' class.

After a brisk two minute walk, the pair arrived with only a minute to spare. Mrs. Myers immediately gave a pop quiz. Others were groaning, and Jess was one of them, but, Leslie seemed unfazed. She was smiling. Jess brought his desk closer to hers and spoke in the lowest voice he had.

"Why the heck are you smiling like you just won the lottery?" He whispered to her.

Leslie giggled in response. "This is exactly what I've studied last night!"

Jess rolled his eyes. She was just like Jamie.

"Great, another nerd for a friend."

Leslie just grinned at his comment when Mrs. Myers barked at them for chitchatting. She then gave the test papers. Every student's eyes almost bulged out of their sockets when they saw the questions.

All throughout the quiz, Leslie had been smiling while Jess was sulking quietly in his seat. It only took her half of the time to finish the quiz, while it took Jess an extra five minutes to.

He raised his arms in defeat as they got out of the classroom.

"I hate this English bullshit." He said. Leslie shushed him with the curse word.

"It's not we can't speak the language!" Jess retorted.

Leslie huffed and rolled her eyes. _Boys_, so typical.

For the rest of the afternoon, Jess stayed with Leslie. It was like they had established this kind of connection that he didn't want to be away from her. Maybe because he just missed Jamie.

Jamie.

It was just now that he realized that it was the first time that afternoon that he had thought about her. Throughout the whole time he was with Leslie, he laughed and had enjoyed himself, now, he's back to reality. He still cared for his ex-girlfriend who had leukemia, and somehow, the second reality is…

He thinks he's starting to like this girl beside him, who's name is Leslie Burke.

He couldn't be selfish, he thought to himself. How could he like another girl when he still isn't fully over his ex? He can't just abandon Jamie just because she asked him to.

But it's really hard when it's your heart you're enemies with.

* * *

a/n: I'm really sorry for the very late, and not really interesting update… You know, I'm still going to give you the same reason of being insanely busy (I sleep at ten in the evening and wake up at like two in the morning to study). Well, I hoped you enjoyed reading. I'll write again soon.


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